Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Unprofessional ......Program for Distressed Physicians 226...

Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Unprofessional Physician Behavior

William H. Swiggart, MS

Assistant in Medicine

Vanderbilt Department of Medicine

Co-Director, Center for Professional Health

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, TN

Developed by: William H. Swiggart, MS. Center for Professional Health

at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2017. © All rights reserved.

I have no financial relationships to disclose.



Describe the Center for Professional Health

Program for Distressed Physicians

professional development course and lessons

learned.

Explore specific approaches to remediation

and skill building.

Identify resources.



► Describe the etiology of unprofessional behavior.

► Complete one self-assessment tool and evaluate the results.

► Practice at least two grounding techniques. ► State the “8:1” ratio. ► Define “flooding”



Course N Years

Maintaining Proper Boundaries 970 2000-2016

Program for Distressed

Physicians

226 2004-2016

Proper Prescribing of Controlled

Prescription Drugs

1246 1994-2016

Proper Prescribing of Controlled

Prescription Drugs for APRNs

16 2015-2016

TOTAL 2458 1998-2016

Updated January, 2017 Developed by: William H. Swiggart, MS. Center for Professional Health


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/48378082_0c0124bc2a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/stonefaction/48378082/&usg=__PmodFUwNMoTah_ACrTwhc5Df1_s=&h=500&w=492&sz=197&hl=en&start=76&itbs=1&tbnid=Gb_55vw-u22mGM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=128&prev=/images?q=squirrel+in+the+road&start=72&hl=en&sa=N&gbv=2&ndsp=18&tbs=isch:1

Site Dates Participants Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Center for Professional Health

Nashville, TN

William H. Swiggart, M.S.

www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/cph

2004-2016 226

University of Florida College of Medicine

Gainesville, FL

Dr. Martha Brown

www.drmarthabrown.com

2011-2016 142

Rush/Professional Renewal Center

Chicago, IL and Lawrence, KS

Drs. Betsy and Michael Williams

http://prckansas.org/cme/the-program-for-distressed-

physicians-cme-course-overview

2015-2106 74

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

Dr. John Schorling and Dr. Kim Penberthy

https://med.virginia.edu/psychiatry/patients/eccs/eccs-

course-description/

2011-2015

46



http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/cph

http://www.drmarthabrown.com/

http://prckansas.org/cme/the-program-for-distressed-physicians-cme-course-overview















https://med.virginia.edu/psychiatry/patients/eccs/eccs-course-description/





“We judge ourselves by our motives,

others judge us by our behavior.” - AA quote



► “Intimidating and unprofessional behavior can foster medical errors, contribute to poor patient satisfaction and to preventable adverse outcomes, increase the cost of care, and cause qualified clinicians, administrators and managers to seek new positions in more professional environments.”

-- Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 40: Behaviors that Undermine a Culture of

Safety. Joint Commission, September 2016. https://www.jointcommission.

org/sentinel_event_alert_issue_40_behaviors_that_undermine_a_

culture_of_safety/

► Misprescribing

► Boundary issues sexual and other

Williams BW, Swiggart WH, Ghulyan MA, Vickers, K, Williams MV.

FSPHP April 23-26, 2012



Aggressive

Anger Outbursts

Profane/Disrespectful

Language

Throwing Objects

Demeaning Behavior

Physical Aggression

Sexual Comments or

Harassment

Racial/Ethnic Jokes

Passive

Aggressive

Derogatory

comments about

institution, hospital,

group, etc.

Refusing to do tasks

Passive

Chronically late

Not responding to calls

Inappropriate or

inadequate chart notes

Spectrum of Disruptive Behaviors



“The Perfect Storm”

Physician Hospital/Clinic

The external system The internal system

Good skills

Poor skills

Functional & nurturing

Dysfunctional

Developed by: William H. Swiggart, MS.

Center for Professional Health at Vanderbilt

University Medical Center, 2017. © All rights

reserved.

http://www.heartsurgery-tampa.com/images/surgeon.jpg

Institutional Factors*

◦Scapegoats

◦System reinforces behavior

◦ Individual pathology may over-

shadow institutional pathology.

* Williams and Williams, 2004



Individual Factors

◦ Predisposing Psychological Factors1

Alcohol and Drug Family History

Trauma History

Religious Fundamentalism

Familial High Achievement

◦ Personality Traits2

Narcissism

Obsessive/Compulsive

◦ Physician Burnout3

◦ Clinical Skills Satisfactory or Above Average4 1. Valliant, 1972 2. Gabbard, 1985

3. Spickard and Gabbe, 2002 4. Papadakis, 2004, 2005



“This means you feel so stressed that you

become emotionally and physically

overwhelmed…”

“Pounding heart, sweaty hands, and shallow

breathing.”

“When you’re in this state of mind…you are not

capable of hearing new information or accepting

influence.”

*John M. Gottman, Ph.D. The Relationship

Cure, Crown Publishers, New York, 2001, 74-78.

Flooding

Test

See handouts

Copyright, John M. Gottman, All Rights Reserved (revised 11/17/03)



Scoring: If you answered “yes” to more than eight

statements, this is a strong sign that you are prone to

feeling flooded during conflict. Because this state can be

harmful to you, it’s important to let others know how you

are feeling. The antidote to flooding is to practice soothing

yourself.



“This means you feel so stressed that you

become emotionally and physically

overwhelmed…”

“Pounding heart, sweaty hands, and shallow

breathing.”

“When you’re in this state of mind…you are not

capable of hearing new information or accepting

influence.”

*John M. Gottman, Ph.D. The Relationship Cure, Crown

Publishers, New York, 2001, 74-78.



GROUNDING

Categories exercise

Judge versus describe

Breathe



SPECIFIC PHRASES

You may be right.

Give me a minute, I’ll get right back to you.

I know this may be frustrating, I want to address

your concerns.

Tell me how I can help you.

Glad you are here.



Cannot change their behavior.

Do not care about others.

Enjoy conflict.

Being a good surgeon excuses poor

communication.



Mr. Bangsiding felt (and wrongly so) that a little

chat would be enough to stop Bob’s disruptive behavior.



► Distressed physicians lack the skills to be effective.

► Sometimes unprofessional behavior may be directly linked to the work environment.

► Distressed physicians often carry the concerns of their colleagues alone and fail to get consensus when dealing with administration.

► Physicians noted as “most helpful:” ○ Role play ○ Grounding skills ○ Follow-up small groups and genogram



►Distressed physicians are often introverted in

nature which can lead to poor communication.

►Distressed physicians don’t understand the “8:1”

positive-to-negative ratio.

Physicians may not ask enough questions when

taking a new leadership position. (Orthopedic

surgeon story)



Distressed physicians often come from families that

were rigid and disengaged.

Change takes time and feedback (B-29© survey).

Distressed physicians tend to speed up under stress.

Distressed physicians tend to flood and fail to

recognize their own flooding as well as flooding in

others.



Courses

Coaches, counselors

Comprehensive evals

360° Evaluations

Physician Wellness

State BME

Professional Societies

QI Officers

EAP

State Physician Health

Programs



Vanderbilt Center

for

Professional Health

Professional Development Courses Today’s slides can be found on our website below

www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/cph



http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/cph

Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Unprofessional ......Program for Distressed Physicians 226...

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